Monday, January 12, 2015

Pottery Sherds


 This painting of pottery sherds is another painting in the Stallings Island series. Sometimes referred to as 'shards' the proper name in the field of archaeology is 'sherd', or more precisely, 'potsherd', is commonly a historic or prehistoric fragment of pottery.

Stallings Island, a National Historic Landmark site, was a major settlement of Late Archaic Native Americans from 4,500 to 3,500 years ago. Located in the Savannah River, eight miles upstream from Augusta, the sixteen-acre island is the namesake of Stallings Culture and its hallmark pottery, Stallings fiber-tempered wares, the oldest pottery in North America.

River Shoal



'River Shoal' is a large acrylic painting using a water spray technique.  The surface of the canvas has been textured using various acrylic mediums. The painting was then intentionally distressed using a spray water technique between layers of acrylic paint. This techniques quite literally gives the painting a watery feeling, appropriate to the subject of the piece. A SHOAL is a place where a river, sea, or other body of water becomes shallow allowing the possibility of traversing it by foot. The painting is part of a series I've been working on based on Stallings Island...an island in the Savannah River that has figured prominently in the field of archaeology.  Stallings Island, a National Historic Landmark site, was a major settlement of Late Archaic Native Americans from 4,500 to 3,500 years ago. Located in the Savannah River, eight miles upstream from Augusta, the sixteen-acre island is the namesake of Stallings Culture and its hallmark pottery, Stallings fiber-tempered wares, the oldest pottery in North America.
(Detail: River Shoal)



Study: River Shoal

This 20 x 16 Acrylic painting is part of the Stallings Island Series. Most of the paintings in the exhibit will be Mixed Media Collage, however I have included several acrylic paintings  The painting posted here was a study for a larger painting in which I was planning to use a water spray technique. The surface of the canvas was textured using a variety of acrylic mediums. The surface then painted. With each layer of acrylic paint a water spray was used to reveal the layer below and give the painting a watery-distressed appearance. As for the title, a 'SHOAL' is a place where a river, sea, or other body of water becomes shallow allowing the possibility of traversing it by foot. I was pleased with the result and decided to use the same technique on a larger painting.